


let me sing you a sunrise

by whatlighttasteslike (waitingforeleven)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kissing, Light (very light) angst, Musicians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 16:23:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16287896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waitingforeleven/pseuds/whatlighttasteslike
Summary: Jemma wants nothing more than to share her music and every part of herself with Fitz. But first, she needs him to text her back.a singer/songwriter au





	let me sing you a sunrise

 

Swiping another tissue off her dressing table, Jemma collapsed heavily onto the worn sofa that made up almost the entirety of her dressing room and held her head between her hands. She was thankful she didn’t have to share the cramped space with another performing act that evening, as she likely wouldn’t have been able to hold herself together since her emotions had gotten the best of her a few hours earlier.

Despite the night she was having, she didn’t want to cancel her show. And there was a slim chance Fitz would even show up anyway.

She was still terrified of him watching her sing, her modest success in their college town as a singer songwriter not enough for her to feel comfortable performing in front of him just yet. And he knew this and always kept his distance to keep her at ease. It may have been easier if she performed with a full band, the other musicians giving him something else to focus on while she sang, but she much preferred the simple piano and guitar setup she’d grown accustomed to since she started to pursue her dream.

They’d met at that exact venue a few months ago, him slipping inside just moments after she’d completed a late-night set. After seeing him come in through the side door and greet Hunter by the tiny sound booth, Jemma spent the rest of the evening building up the courage to introduce herself. She’d seen him around campus once or twice, and she was already intrigued by his quiet demeanor, not to mention his handsome face.

It wasn’t until she lost sight of him a few minutes before closing that _he_ found _her._

Tugging on the sleeve of her jumper, he stood a modest distance away from her near the crowded exit, the roar of the music and chatter washing away as she laid her eyes on him. His expression was kind, a sort of nervous but excited look in his eye as he took in a breath before his name stumbled off his tongue.

Weeks later, they would laugh over their first nervous introduction, neither of them comfortable in the realm of navigating college relationships or dating in general. And what started out as quiet smiles, conversations about their interests – music for her, teaching for him – over cups of tea, and whispers against her ear quickly transformed for Jemma into a deep longing for this boy who managed to bring light and joy to a space in her life she didn’t even know needed to be filled. She didn’t humor herself with thoughts of love just yet, but she knew these feelings for Fitz would never go away, this all-consuming desire to know him in every way possible.

Now, her phone lay untouched on the floor after staring at it non-stop. Telling herself that she and Fitz weren’t technically a couple yet really wasn’t helping to ease her hurt feelings, especially since that was precisely what she wanted more than anything in the world.

It had been almost three days since she’d sent her last text to him after a night out with friends, one that she’s been terrified to send in the first place, but she felt it was best to be honest about her strong feelings for him. The resulted silence at the other end of the line sent her into a state of panic that maybe she’d moved too fast, that maybe it truly was a silly fantasy that simply existed inside her head that she’d projected on the first poor soul that gave her the time of day. And now, she couldn’t ignore her feelings no matter how hard to tried to escape in her music. Old songs she’d written ages ago about longing for romance and stories of lovers constantly torn apart left her thinking only of him. He wouldn’t just leave her this way; he was too kind for that. Yet the text continued to go unanswered, and Jemma continued to let her feelings spiral, her tears failing to cease.

Shifting her weight, she moved to lie flat on the sofa to stare at the ceiling, her hand dangling at her side as she clutched her handwritten setlist. The modest crowd outside was in for a rough night, she’d thought as she’d decided which songs to perform that evening. She couldn’t bring herself to even consider the new melodies inspired by him, the verses that used to send her smiling from ear to ear whenever she replayed them inside her head.

 _Let me sing you a sunrise_  
_A light that takes your breath away_  
_We’ll move mountains for this life, love_  
_I’ll give you a place to stay_

But wasn’t that where great art came from, she asked herself - the painful realities of losing the ones you thought would stay, of waking up and realizing he’s wasn’t there anymore? Maybe it was better this way, she thought as she wiped at her eyes, her makeup now soiled. Being alone was easier; fighting for something more was much harder.

When the knock came at her door, she sat up quickly, her head slightly spinning before she called to let them in.

“Hey Jemma,” Daisy said, opening the door slowly, a clipboard in her hand.

Jemma groaned as she stretched her arms over her head. “Ten minutes, yeah? I’ll be ready. Just give me a minute to freshen up a bit.” She moved to her dressing table in search of her tube of mascara.

“Right, sounds good,” Daisy answered before gesturing behind her. “But there’s…”

“Have you heard anything from Hunter about the lights?” Jemma asked as she kneeled in front of the fingerprint smudged mirror, makeup wipes in hand. “He said they would be fixed before I went on.”

“I haven’t heard anything, so I’ll check on that, but…”

When she trailed off, Jemma tilted her head in Daisy’s direction and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s someone here to see you,” Daisy admitted before she shifted to the side to reveal the person standing behind the door.

Fitz lifted his hand in an awkward wave before moving to scratch behind his neck, and the breath escaped Jemma’s lungs as she willed her eyes not to well up.

“Oh. Hi,” she uttered softly, quickly turning around herself as she furiously wiped at her eyes to rid herself of the remaining evidence of her breakdown.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Daisy told them before Fitz moved through the doorway, Daisy closing the door softly behind her.  

Once Jemma was satisfied with her appearance to face him, she turned around, her hands fidgeting at her sides after tossing a makeup wipe in the bin at her feet. “Fitz, what are you…” she mumbled before clearing her throat. “What are you doing here?”

He was looking at his hands in front of him, his expression much more pained than she’d ever witnessed before. “I wanted to see you,” he said quietly. “I won’t stay, if that’s what you want. I know you get nervous, and I want you to have a good show.”

Jemma nodded weakly, swallowing a lump in her throat as she took him in. He was dressed up more than usual, the button-down he’d chosen one of her favorites she’d seen on him, which wasn’t helping her current emotional state.

“This is probably a bad time,” he said in a rush, pointing towards the door. “I can just—”

“Fitz, please,” Jemma cut in. “It’s fine. Just… tell me what’s going on.”  

He stood frozen for a moment, his mouth agape as he seemed to decide whether to stand and face her or run away. After taking in a deep breath, he nodded. “Right, okay,” he managed. Walking forward, he closed the distance between them, looking as if he wanted to reach out to her, but he kept his hands at his sides. “Well, first,” he started, “I wanted to apologize for not texting you back.”

“So, you got them?” she asked, her voice low. “The texts?”

“Ye-yeah. I did. And they were really nice.” He looked down, rubbing his lips together. “They’re always nice.”

When he stayed quiet, Jemma offered up a small shrug. “I’m sorry for being so forward.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“And I should have just told you in person how I felt.”

“Jemma, you did nothing wrong,” Fitz said urgently, his hand finally coming up to rest on her shoulder.

His touch sent a chill down her spine, and all she wanted to do was collapse into him and let it all be right again. But she knew they needed this, to talk things through, so she looked up with patient eyes, waiting for him to continue.

“I just…” he went on. “I didn’t know what to say.” Dropping his hand from her shoulder, he found hers and held it in the space between them, his thumb tracing over her knuckles. “I guess I don’t really know how to… _do_ this exactly. Because I really like you. A _lot_. And I’ve never really felt like this about anyone before.”

Jemma’s lip curled up at his honesty while her stomach flipped at his words.

“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “This isn’t an excuse for not responding and this probably isn’t making any sense.”

“No, no. It is. Keep going,” she urged him, squeezing his hand.  

“Okay,” he sighed, looking a bit more relaxed than he did when he first entered the room. “It’s just that… I get nervous around you because you’re… _amazing_. And sometimes I still find it hard to believe that you actually feel the way you do about me. So when I got that text, I got scared that I was just gonna mess things up between us.”

Jemma tilted her head and chuckled at his admission. “Why on Earth would you think that?”

“I dunno,” he answered, shrugging. “Because it’s all new and I’m terrified at sending a simple text even when we feel the same way about each other.”

At this, Jemma couldn’t contain her smile. Because there it was. The confirmation that they were on the same page even if it felt like they were spinning in circles. It was already an emotional day, so she wasn’t surprised to feel fresh tears sliding down her cheeks. She didn’t mind letting them fall freely now, even if Fitz didn’t seem to quite understand her response.

“Oh, God,” he said, his eyes instantly filling with concern as he rubbed her shoulders. “Please don’t cry. I didn’t want you to cry.”

“No, it’s okay,” she assured him. “I’m _happy_ , I promise.” She paused to wipe her tears on her sleeve. “I don’t really know what I’m doing either. I’ve never been in a relationship that’s lasted before. And I don’t know exactly what this is between us, but I like the idea of what it _could_ be.”

“Yeah,” he breathed, looking a bit stunned but holding himself together. “Me too.”

She didn’t know how long they stood there staring at each other like idiots, Jemma reckoned, before Fitz let out a sharp breath. “Alright, uhh… you were forward about this, so let me be forward too.”

“Okay,” Jemma said through a laugh.

“So…” he started, holding his hands in front of him as if in prayer. “Will you have dinner with me? Tomorrow night at 7? There’s an Italian place around the corner I’ve heard good things about.”

“Yes,” she answered straight away, giggling. “Yes, I’d love to.”

“Okay, good,” he said happily, his smile bright. “We have a plan.”

“Perfect,” she agreed, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in. “Plans are lovely.”

When she kissed him, it was magic, the weight of uncertainty lifted off her shoulders as she moved her hands to cradle his face, his lips soft and sweet. It wasn’t their first, that memory still leaving her dizzy whenever she was reminded of that cherished Sunday afternoon. Yet this one was different. It was filled with something more honest and definite, a reassurance that there would be more kisses like this, that they could move forward with more openness as they welcomed the unknown.

When they pulled apart, Jemma rested her forehead against his and bit her lip. “We’re a bit stupid, aren’t we?” she whispered.

Fitz let out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, we are,” he answered, brushing his finger across her cheek. “So, are you ready for tonight? I can stay backstage or in here if you want.”

At the mention of her show, Jemma’s face suddenly fell as she pulled away from him, her heart dropping to her stomach as the moment before he walked into her dressing room came back to her at full force.  

Fitz lowered his head to find her eyes. “What’s wrong now?”

“I have to…” she twirled around herself in search of her piece of paper she’d been holding a few minutes ago. “I have to change _everything_. I have to change the setlist.”

“What? Why?”

“Oh, God,” she said, covering her mouth with her hand while she shook her head. “I was gonna sing all these, _ugh_ , all these songs that are just _dreadfully_ sad.”

When she looked to him, he was covering his mouth too, but to hold in his laughter.

“This isn’t funny!” Jemma exclaimed. “It’s going to be awful.”

“No, it’s not. Come here.” Pulling her to his chest, Fitz wrapped her in a quick hug before taking her by the shoulders. “Hey, we’ll figure it out. Just take a deep breath.”

Jemma nodded, closing her eyes for a moment and following his breathing pattern.

Once she eventually calmed down, her mind focusing on Fitz and all the songs that made her feel like she was floating, he gazed at her, an encouraging expression on his face. “You’re gonna be great,” he said. “And then after, we’ll get beers.”

“And food,” she added.

“Right, and food.”

“And then… I could play something for you?” she asked, holding her breath.

Pulling in his lips, Fitz tilted his head. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Jemma whispered through an exhale. “I think so.”

With her setlist vastly improved, she let him stay backstage that night. He was far back enough so she couldn’t see him, but knowing he was there and he would still be there when her show came to an end allowed her to let go and get lost in the words that made up the beginning of their story. And then when she found him after it was over, his arms circling her waist as he held her close, new melodies were already taking hold in her mind, ones she’d only share with him.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr at [mylifemyheartmyhome](http://mylifemyheartmyhome.tumblr.com)!


End file.
